hinduismtruefandomcom-20200215-history
Hinduism
Hinduism is a Dhamic Monistic Monotheistic religion based on its adherents showing devotion (Bhakti) to God as taught in the Vedas (Knowledge) and the Bhagvad-Gita (the Word of God).It also revolves around its adherants to search for scientific knowledge (Janna-Yoga) and follow their duty in professional fields for the betterment of humanity. Hinduism is one of the world’s largest religion with over 1.1 billion adherents known as Hindus. Hindus believe that all living being inhabit a world of karma and reincarnation cycle, and that the goal of all souls is to achieve liberation through devotion to God. Hindu theology is best surmmarised in the Bhagvad-Gita. The Word of God states that God himself, as the Avatar Krishna, descended on the world to teach all humanity to attain Salvation. The Bhagvad-Gita further says that one must show true devotion to God in order to not only to have their sins cleansed but to also escape the trapings of Karma, Illusion and reincarnation cycle. Hinduism developed around 7500BCE along with the earliest settlements of Indus Valley Civilization at Bhirrana in present day Haryana, India. Archaeastronomy studies has provided the date 10th January 5114 BCE as the date of birth of Avatar Rama. Originating in India, Hinduism spread as far as Afghanistan in the west to Indonesia and the Philippines in the east. The conquests made by Islamic conquerors and Western colonists forced the religion to be limited to India only. However, British colonial indentured system and the teachings of Swami Vivekanand saw Hindus and Hindu teachings spread around the world. Following the advent of Buddhism, Dharmic religion and worship of Vedic deities has spread as far as China, Japan, Korea, and the South East Asia. Hinduism and other Dharmic religion has played a prominent role in shaping the Eastern civilisation. Throughout recent history, Hindus, as a people, have faced much oppression and acts of genocide by Islamic conquerors and British colonists, however through devotion and faith in their identity, religion, and God, Hindus remained true to the belief and are now growing in numbers. Worldwide the largest denominations of Hinduism are Shaivism, Shaktism, and Vaishnaism, with its sub-branch Krishnaism being the most popular among the westerners. Beliefs Creeds God I am the father and the mother of this universe, the support, and the grandsire. I am the object of knowledge, the purifier and the word Om. I am also the Ṛig, the Sāma, and the Yajur Vedas (Hindu scriptures). 9:17 The central tenet of Hinduism is devotion to God. Hindus believe that God is all, Mother, and Father, and is unlike Abrahamic religions such as Judaism and Christianity which claims God is only male, reflected in their patriarchal societies, referring to God as father and son, with no reference to a Mother. Hindus also believe that Krishna as the Avatar of God had descended on to the world to save mankind from evil. The Hindu concept of Avatar differs significantly from the Christian concept of incarnation. The Core Hindu belief is that through devotion to God, Humans trapped in the world of suffering can realise God, and have have their sins cleansed and be freed from karma, and thereby achieve liberation and the promised eternal bliss. While there has been a rich and diverse view on the nature of God throughout the history of Hinduism, generally Hindus believe that God is One, bliss and merciful. God having become fully human as Avatar Ram, suffered pain and temptations as a mortal man. As Ganesha the Son, God rose to life again. As Lord Shiva, God conquered death. And as Mother Shakti (Power; Parvati, Devi), God is the protector and of all womankind. According to the Kalki Purana, God will ultimately descend on earth as the Avatar Kalki and defeat the King of Demons, Kalyuga to rid the earth of all evils, and establish paradise on earth in a new golden age, the Satyuga. According to Mahabharata and Bhagvad Purana, Krishna descended on to the world to bring an end to the tyrannical rule of the demon king Kansa, and rid the world of evil. Much of the Mahabharata concentrates on the Kurukshetra war and the recitation of the Bhagvad-Gita by God. In comparison, Bhagvad Purana delves entirely on the life of Krishna and the miracles he performed. The Puranic accounts of Krishna’s life include: bringing an end to demonic rule, revealing the true nature of God, healing the sick, bringing back the dead, protecting the weak, teaching, and reciting the Uddhava Gita. Devotion (Bhakti) Bhakti refers to Devotion and love a Hindu has for God. A simple act of belief and faith in God is devotion enough. Hindus consider devotion to God to be the cornerstone of their faith and the dearest thing to hold on to in their hearts. Among Hindu beliefs, devotion to God is the only way to have their sins cleansed and escape the bondage of suffering in this Dark Age of Kalyuga. According to Bhagvad-Gita 9:34 God said to Arjuna “Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, offer obeisance and devotion to Me. Being completely devoted to Me, surely you will come to Me”. The Sage Markandeya once detailed the historic event when God personally intervened and conquered death personified in order to ensure that his devotee lived on. Hence God in Hinduism is also known as Kalantaka (Shiva), the Destroyer of Death. Hindus believe that if one is devoted to God in life, than in the time of their death, God himself will personally intervenes to drive out the angels of death and take his devotee's soul to his adobe, Heaven. The recitation of the Bhagvad Gita by God himself is considered one of the most important event in Hindu Theology as, it demonstrates the power of God over life and death and therefore has the power and authority to give people eternal liberation and salvation. Hindu temples accept and read aloud and teach the Itihasas (History; Ramayana and Mahabharata) and the Puranas in Kattha sessions (recitations of historical accounts) as a form of preaching. In Bhagvad-Gita 9:28 God himself says “In this way you will be freed from all reactions to good and evil deeds, and by this principle of renunciation you will be liberated and come to Me” Salvation Salvation (Liberation; Moksha, Mukti) in Hinduism is liberation from sin, karma and reincarnation, and attaining union with God. Hindus believe that salvation can only be achieved through belief and devotion to God. Historically the six major orthodox schools of Hinduism had debated on and disagreed on whether salvation can be achieved in this life, or only after this life. The schools offer the following reasons: Nyaya, Vaisesika, and Mimamsa schools believed that salvation is possible only after death; whereas Samkhya and Yoga schools consider it possible in this life. However with the descent of Lord Krishna and his recitation of the Bhagvad-Gita on achieving liberation, the dominant Vedanta school of thought emerged and put all the debates to an end. The Vedantic School of Hinduism suggests that salvation begins with the desire for liberation and is further subdivided into three interdependent traditions. The Advaita tradition considers salvation achievable by removing ignorance. The Dvaita tradition defines salvation as the loving, eternal union with God and considered the highest perfection of existence. Vishistadvaita tradition defines ignorance and salvation differently. Ignorance is focusing on self without God whereas knowledge is focusing on God. According to this tradition Individuals tend to forget God, but salvation is only achieved by releasing oneself from ignorance, and achieving eternal union with God through devotion. Thus Hindus believe through belief in and devotion to God, one can achieve liberation and attain salvation. Trimurti Trimurti refers to the truth that one God comprises three distinct, eternally co-existing persons; the Creator, Brahma, the Sustainer, Vishnu (including the avatars), and the Destroyer, Shiva. Together these three persons are called the Godhead. Detractors and opponents of Hinduism often point out that they are separet gods and that Hindus are polytheists,but Bhagvad-Gita 10:20 states that God said to Arjuna “I am the Self, O Arjuna, seated in the hearts of all creatures. I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all beings”,proved these misconceptions to be wrong. God’s assertion that he alone is the beginning , the middle, and the end, stems the Hindu’s belief that God is one, and there is only one God. This assertion is made because Hinduism teaches that there is one truth,but sages call it by many names. In this context, Brahma is considered the beginning, Vishnu the middle, and Shiva the end. Hence Trimurti does not imply three gods but manifestations of one God, being distinct from each other, yet are truly one. Scriptures Hinduism, like other religions, whose beliefs and scriptural interpretations vary. Hinduism regards as scriptural authority, the Sruti (that which is heard) and Smriti (that which is remembered) as the inspired word of God and works of sages, respectively. Some believe that divine inspirations make our Scriptures inerrant. Others claim inerrancy for the Bible in its original Sanskrit manuscripts, of which all are extant. Still others maintain that only a particular translation is inerrant. A good amount of evidence has surfaced which support the latter view. This is in fact true, given when the British colonials officials were translating the Sanskrit texts into English, many verses were willfully translated with errors in order to demean the indigenous Hindu population dissociate the scientific and spiritual advancement made by the Hindu people from the ancient era as far back as 7000 BCE. This deliberate mis-translations in an attempt to make their Hindu subjects lose faith in their religion, Hinduism, and look down upon their Hindu identity still affects the Hindus and their esteem to this day. Because of the resultant low self esteem in their Hindu identity, due to the British colonial's effort to distort the teachings of Hinduism, many present day Hindus have left Hinduism to become Atheists or convert to other Mleccha religions. It is a truly divine miracle that 1 billion Hindu's still have faith in their identity. The Books of the Hindu Scriptures some what vary among the Hindu's and the Hindu denominations, however the Vedas, as Sruti texts, have the supreme authority over all Hindus and denominations. The Sruti, which is the most authoritative texts, includes the the 4 Vedas - Rigveda, Samveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaved. the Upanishads, of which the 10 cardinal books are - Aiterya Upanishad, Brahadaranyaka Upanishad, Chandogya Upanishad, Isha(vasya) Upanishad (Isopanishad), Katha Upanishad, Kena Upanishad, Mandukya Upanishad, Mundaka Upanishad, Swetaswatara Upanishad, Taittirya Upanishad.